The Impossible Quest: Getting a Job in Games

[@vin6054]

Great Video! Normally I get bored in these talks and click away, but this one kept me hooked. Great Job and thank you so much for these awesome advices! :)

[@Nowaki96]

Some pretty great advice! Also, great to see this topic from the different perspectives of the speakers and to hear people talking about this that are not already for decades in this industry.

[@Vueltero]

Thank you so much for this talk

[@drewbeck5725]

I loved the video. I am working on trying to get an internship at the moment and this was very insightful! Thanks

[@Gabrol]

did she just say "it's easy to go to the other side of the world"? I guess game dev is a really privileged job

[@KenshinIV]

The impossible quest to devote your life to finding a non-union job where you're overworked, underpaid, undervalued, and physically and mentally abused. The life of searching for work in the game industry!

[@yonjuunininjin]

Nice, I got like number 42 :)

[@justarandomtomato_]

Do freelancer, is more flexible and has better payment. You have to be quite good, though.

[@kristianthaler6525]

at least you get to sit in a chair, it can't be worse than working in a kitchen.

[@justarandomtomato_]

@@kristianthaler6525 You have a point.

[@killermonky]

My advice is, get a job in the arms industry, join their union and build simulators in Unreal. Enjoy a well payed gamedev job with no crunch time.

[@berthein5476]

Ehhhh. All them fellow volunteers :3 miss you guys! Hope we get to have a drink at devcom or berlin games week this year

[@SuperMontana2008]

Nearly impossible getting job in games industry unless you know right people.

[@rib_rob_personal]

This is why folks need to network and create opportunities for themselves. Game jams are fantastic for networking and sometimes organizers will have prizes like a month long mentorship with a professional game developer. Also, folks need to be working on a full game that will hopefully draw attention. I have some friends that have gotten pretty amazing opportunities by doing both of those.

[@rebeccaslurpermann8444]

Or living in or near the US/EU.

[@donnorman6526]

Is not true.. I'm the proof of it.Yes if you have friends it may help you for a smaller studio, but big studios you will have a referral that maybe will get you the first interview only. But all the rest of the process is dependent on you. I got my first job in gaming after 2 years of constant applying while working. A thing to keep in mind is that some professions are more searched than others just like any other company too. developer vs artist which one you will think will have a better chance to get in? The skill of a developer is more searched for than others. But just keep doing it! I'm a ux designer and got in!

[@donnorman6526]

@Dino Sauro that's up to you to decide if it is a good choice or not. Money wise is not but at least you work in a space you care about... Personally, I can't spend 7hours a day working in a thing I don't care at all. Is very difficult to find a job you care overall

[@TonyTheTGR]

Knowing/meeting the right people is 90% of the work.

[@guitaraobscura8802]

some bitter people in these replies

[@misticalagesdennix]

i don't see a thing doing this then if there are so many comments about salary dudeeee... lol.

[@defectivenull]

the impossible quest to find someone in the games industry that actually likes working in video games full time

[@JOZiable]

So.... most of the people in the games industry.

[@0ia]

@@JOZiable except EA, it feels like

[@defectivenull]

@@JOZiable most of the people in AAA companies

[@JOZiable]

@@defectivenull ... So, most of the people in the games industry? Not liking where you work is not the same as not liking what you do.

[@JOZiable]

@@defectivenull I'm sure most of them would LOVE to work full time but those opportunities are few and far between especially when you have to also feed yourself.

[@StefanLopuszanski]

The famous saying: those who can't do -- teach. But to expand on that: those who can't do on their own -- work for others. Sure, many people aren't fortunate or privileged enough to have a chance to do it themselves, but those that can it seems silly to work "for the man" when you can do largely the same and reap the profits themselves. It is kinda like late state capitalism where the rich create a pyramid scheme to siphon money off those who know how by setting things up. If the workers joined together they could do the same thing without that middleman taking an extraordinary amount relative to their input. Pretty complex topic, but that's what I've realized from over a decade of studying the game industry and business and marketing and so on. Even if someone who does that thing on their own fails, that gives them such a strong portfolio that they can always fall back to working in a company or academia. That's the path I've realized and I'm trying. No clue if it will work, but so far so good. =)

[@thelaw3536]

From a practical standpoint doing something yourself can be quite inefficient. Think about trying to get good at boxing without a good coach or growing all your own food. Specialization is king for mass production and mass production is king for wealth. Not everyone has the mentality or skill for going alone (almost all businesses fail and even more creatives don't succeed). If it works for you, go for it, but don't convince yourself that this is appropriate for everyone.

[@StefanLopuszanski]

@@thelaw3536 : Never said it is the path for everyone. Just a good one that can be used to fall back on something else as needed.

[@perfectionbox]

Studios are pretty desperate now (2022). I just respond to help wanted ads and boom, offer.

[@tigasharkstudios]

Not a single person of colour and not a single game or 3D artist. Typical from GDC. Missing the point.

[@Samuri5hit84]

You shouldn't add people of color to everything just for the sake of adding people of color. Yes everyone should be able to take part in whatever they want, but the point of GDC is not to display people of color, but to show what is going on in the industry. There are many people of color in the industry, but they may not have been part of this talk for any number of reasons. The point is we shouldn't just look at things and think there has to be a Black or Chinese person for the sake of diversity. Context should be taken into account. For example you shouldn't cast white lead actors for a movie about the history of China, likewise you shouldn't have someone from China play Christopher Columbus. In the case of this talk it just has to do with what people are available at the time, not about including one culture while disclosing another.